Dedication ceremonies will be held this week for a new Michigan State University research facility aimed at improving automobile engine efficiency; reducing energy consumption; and developing cheaper, cleaner sources of energy. The official opening of the Energy & Automotive Research Laboratories will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 24. Tours of the building begin at […]

The SAE is looking for experts to review a series of standards relating to speedometers and odometers, including J1059—Speedometer Test Procedures, issued November 1973, revised June 1984. This Recommended Practice, “provides a test procedure for eddy-current speedometers, including the odometer if it is an integral portion of the speedometer, for passenger car service.”
Contact Michelle Brussow, […]

A newly-formed group of investors has joined together to design and construct a state-of-the-art customer wind tunnel project near Charlotte, N.C., the heart of NASCAR country, known as Wind Tunnel eXtreme. This project will help provide teams from all motorsports disciplines an “unfair advantage” (according to the company, anwyay) in aerodynamic development. The core of […]

My former boss, Jon Titus, writing for Design News, reminds us to isolate digital signals as well as analog signals:
Previous columns have stressed the need to eliminate ground loops that can cause digitized signals to include noise from nearby sources. Often, though, engineers may forget digital signals also can introduce ground loops that adversely affect […]

AZCentral.Com has published an interesting story on the city of Mesa annexing the former GM Proving Grounds. The article notes:
GM in 2004 sold 1,800 of the 5,000 acres that make up the proving grounds to Pacific Proving for $45 million. The company is headed by William Levine, a billboard mogul, who has applied for annexation […]

Two companies, Photron and Electrophysics will offer a series of educational seminars focusing on the latest advancements in high speed visible and thermal imaging systems. The seminars will include a “hands-on” lab to demonstrate Photron’s camera systems and Electrophysics’ thermal imagers and instrumentation for real-world solutions in both high-speed visible and thermal imaging. The […]

Subcommittee D30.05 on Structural Test Methods, part of ASTM International Committee D30 on Composite Materials, has been standardizing a series of methods that are related to the analysis and substantiation of mechanically fastened joints composed of composite materials. The latest in this series of standards, D 7332/D 7332M, Test Method for Measuring the Fastener Pull-Through […]

This is obviously a big story here in my hometown of Ann Arbor. The Ann Arbor News in a fit of hyperbole went so far as to say, “City could become epicenter of automotive communications.”—Dan
The Center for Automotive Research and the Connected Vehicle Trade Association will open a research center in Ann Arbor, MI next […]

Pickering Interfaces 40-190, 40-195, and 40-196 PXI modules are designed for low-density, fault simulation applications.
The 40-190 is primarily designed for automotive applications that test the response of safety critical controllers under fault conditions. The 40-190 permits 64 controller connections to be connected to up to 8 different fault conditions, including wiring connections being open […]

The Atlas Material Testing Technology Ci3000+ now has a new digital control system that gives users more options, flexibility and control of their accelerated weathering testing. The new control system has a full color TFT touch screen display with intuitive icons for easier interpretation of operating parameters and warnings.
It also features an […]